England: Distant Storm meets Gstaad, Zavateri in Dewhurst
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Two weeks after a commanding win in a Group 3 at seven furlongs at Newmarket Racecourse in England, the promising 2-year-old colt Distant Storm returns to the same course for a more prestigious race in Saturday’s Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes.
Distant Storm, trained by Charlie Appleby for Godolphin, was the 6-5 favorite in the Group 3 Tattersalls Stakes on Sept. 25, winning by 4 3/4 lengths from off the pace.
A winner of 2 of 3 starts, Distant Storm will not be that short of a price in the $667,750 Dewhurst at seven furlongs. Distant Storm is part of a field of nine along with Zavateri and Gstaad, the first two finishers of the Group 1 National Stakes at seven furlongs at The Curragh in Ireland on Sept. 14.
As of Thursday, Distant Storm was the 5-2 favorite with British bookmakers, followed by Gstaad and Zavateri at 10-3.
Distant Storm has raced only at seven furlongs in his brief career, winning his first start in a maiden race at Newmarket in July. He was later third by 4 3/4 lengths behind Gewan in the Group 3 Acomb Stakes at seven furlongs at York Racecourse in August when he displayed rank behavior before fading in the final furlong.
Distant Storm closed from the back of a field of seven in the Tattersalls Stakes, pulling clear in the final sixteenth.
Zavateri, trained by Eve Johnson Houghton, and Gstaad, trained by Aidan O’Brien, were separated by a head in the National Stakes after running together through the final furlong. The stewards at The Curragh conducted an inquiry into the stretch run but did not change the order of finish.
The narrow win extended Zavateri’s unbeaten streak to four races, a record that includes two Group 2 wins in England in July – the July Stakes at six furlongs at Newmarket and the Vintage Stakes at seven furlongs at Goodwood.
Zavateri was 15-2 in the National Stakes, while Gstaad was the 10-11 favorite.
Gstaad has kept good company in four starts. He beat the O’Brien-trained True Love by three-quarters of a length in a maiden race at Navan Racecourse in Ireland in his debut in May. True Love has since won three stakes, the latest of which was the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes on Sept. 27 at Newmarket. She is rated as a leading contender for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Oct. 31 at Del Mar.
Gstaad beat 19 rivals in the Group 2 Coventry Stakes at six furlongs at Royal Ascot in June and was second by a short neck to Venetian Sun in the Group 1 Prix Morny Stakes at six furlongs at Deauville in August, France’s top 2-year-old race of the summer.
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